English Literacy Outcomes in Sign Bilingual Programs: Current State of the Knowledge

Area of Science:

• Education
• Linguistics
• Deaf Studies

Background:

• Sign bilingual programs aim to leverage sign language proficiency for literacy development in deaf children.
• Existing research on literacy outcomes for deaf students in these programs is limited.
• Understanding factors influencing literacy is crucial for educational interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review peer-reviewed research on the literacy achievement of deaf children in sign bilingual programs.
• To identify gaps in the current empirical literature.
• To propose directions for future research in this area.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of peer-reviewed studies focusing on reading and writing outcomes.
• Inclusion criteria limited to studies published between 1997 and 2017.
• Analysis of literacy data from 127 deaf students across 3 identified studies.

Main Results:

• The majority of deaf students in the reviewed studies did not achieve average reading comprehension scores.
• A wide range of literacy achievement variability was observed among participants.
• Factors such as additional disabilities, ASL proficiency, and hearing technology use may influence outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Current evidence suggests sign bilingual programs may not consistently yield average literacy outcomes for deaf children.
• Significant gaps exist in the research, necessitating further investigation.
• Future research should explore factors influencing literacy and effective pedagogical approaches.